Our Platform

Our Platform

Platform

We the Republicans of Franklin County of the State of Washington, affirm our dedication to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We believe these rights are derived from God and therefore are not to be usurped by governments, and are protected under our Constitution. We believe the best government is the one nearest the people. Government should neither do for the people what free people can do for themselves, nor what a person cannot do legally by himself.

Freedom is being abused and usurped by a large and increasingly remote and unresponsive government, and is attacked by bureaucratic and humanistic ideology which, for its own self preservation, seeks to limit individual liberty. We demand that our government protect our liberties, and we support the just aspiration of all peoples to liberty worldwide. We encourage citizens to be engaged, active and educated in civics at all levels. We discourage career politicians.

Family, Social and Moral Issues

a) We oppose the use of tax dollars to fund abortion, abortion research and education, and human cloning research and activities.

b) Marriage is only between a man and a woman and should not be redefined to include alternative lifestyles; therefore we support the Defense of Marriage Act.

c) All humans born or preborn have a right to life regardless of age, health, or condition of dependency.

d) We believe in the sole right of parents to direct the upbringing and medical care of their children.

e) Since all people are equal, we oppose legislation that confers special protection status to any group of people.

f) We support eliminating the marriage penalty in tax law.

g) We support adoption for unwanted pregnancies, and educating teens on abstinence and the risks of sexual behaviors.

h) We oppose abortion at all stages of development, except in cases when the life of the mother is medically endangered.

Economy

a) The present national debt is a shameful burden on future generations and we call for swift action to reduce that debt through spending cuts rather than tax increases.

b) Government handling of tax money should be regularly and openly audited.

c) We support free market systems and oppose all forms of income redistribution programs.

d) We oppose a state income tax and call for significant reductions in business regulation and taxation to attract business. Additionally, state B&O tax must be based upon net income rather than gross income.

e) We oppose ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty and cap and trade schemes.

f) We oppose bail-out packages. No entity is too big to fail.

g) We support I-960 and call for the ouster of elected officials who consciously disregard the will of the people.

h) We oppose unfunded mandates from all levels of government.

i) We encourage elimination of Federal estate taxes, and federal and state inheritance taxes.

j) We oppose the initiation and growth of taxation, fees, fines, and penalties by unelected boards, commissions, councils, and agencies.

k) We oppose spending “road use tax” funds for any purpose other than building and maintaining roads.

l) We believe government should not impose or attempt to create taxes on religious real properties.

Constitutional Rights

a) We believe the Constitution supports rather than prohibits references to God at government sanctioned activities and in public facilities, locales and settings.

b) Separation of powers requires that the judicial branch cease its attempts to impose new laws that are constitutionally to be addressed by the legislative branch.

c) We reaffirm the critical importance of the Tenth Amendment constraints on federal government authority and call on Washington State to reassert its rights as a state.

d) We believe the Federal legislature must immediately cease passing laws and usurping powers not given to it under the Constitution.

e) We believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms and call for the repeal of all laws that infringe on that right.

f) Citizens have the exclusive right to property and its uses free from government intrusion and the abuse of eminent domain.

g) We proclaim our devotion to the concept of a limited central government created by the Founding Fathers of our Constitutional Republic.

h) We oppose non-elected government officials dictating and promulgating regulations or restrictions on any industry or individual.

i) We oppose any federal expenditure not expressly authorized by the Constitution.

j) We reject the Ninth Federal Circuit Court’s declaration that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional.

k) Any tax levied on our nation for any purpose by the United Nations or any other foreign body is unconstitutional.

National Defense

a) National defense is the first responsibility and primary obligation of the federal government; therefore its funding is our first priority.

b) The United States must maintain a strong, technologically-advanced military to deter exterior threats and request that they be given the tools, training, support and discretion to defeat the enemy and win wars

c) We support the death penalty for anyone convicted of carrying out a terrorist attack in the United States.

d) We support limited U.S. military cooperation with the United Nations and NATO but military personnel must only be commanded by U.S. commanders, and only wear U.S. uniforms and insignia.

e) We believe it is the duty of the Federal Government to defend our borders and support strict control of our borders against all illegal entry.

f) We oppose sensitivity training for soldiers, sailors and airmen.

g) We believe all people and all nations have the right to self defense

Entitlements

a) We support returning to free market solutions to curb health care costs; therefore we oppose national and or state health care plans run by government.

b) We support patient co-pays for any state assisted medical care to minimize exploitation of taxpayers.

c) We believe the Medicare system must be drastically reformed and made to operate with efficiency and we support its elimination for all but the most vulnerable.

d) Social Security funds must never be borrowed for general fund spending.

e) We support allowing workers to opt out of Social Security.

Immigration

a) We oppose public welfare benefits for non-citizens who are in this country illegally, except medical benefits in life and death situations.

b) Existing immigration laws must be enforced of by ALL federal, state and local officials.

c) We support legal immigration, an efficient temporary worker system requiring workers to apply from their own country not from the United States, and prompt assimilation of those who qualify to become American citizens.

d) We support immediate prosecution and deportation of any foreign felons.

Rule of Law

a) We support tough legislation to punish sex offenders and drug dealers, including mandatory sentences and post-release supervision.

b) We support the death penalty and mandatory financial restitution by convicted criminals to their victims.

c) We support the use of internet pornography filters in all publicly funded facilities, including but not limited to schools and libraries.

e) We believe current obscenity laws should be enforced, without reinterpretation or redefinition.

f) We support aggressive enforcement of our national laws against treason.

Education

a) We support mandatory education on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the importance of the ideas they contain.

b) We support policy that allows parents to send their children to the school of their choice; whether public, private, or home school.

c) We oppose any legislation that undermines legitimate, lawful parental authority over minor children and their education.

d) Education is primarily the responsibility of the family, and secondarily, that of the local community and the state; therefore we support eliminating the federal Department of Education and returning decisions and responsibility to states and local school boards.

e) We oppose legislation imposing teacher certification requirements on private and home schools.

f) We believe competency in reading, language arts and math must be mandatory for receiving a diploma from public school systems.

g) We oppose laws that allow violent juvenile criminals to attend public schools.

h) We believe important moral and value education belongs in the home; therefore we oppose mandatory sex education, homosexual and bisexual education, death education, and values clarification by public schools or outside organizations.

d) We oppose United Nations declared parks and biospheres in the United States.

e) We believe U.S. foreign aid and loan guarantees should be a rare and temporary practice.

f) We believe contracts for services affecting national security should be awarded to American owned firms and not to foreign entities.

Energy and the Environment

a) We believe our current dependence on foreign oil threatens our national security by making us vulnerable to dangerous dictatorships; therefore we support a national energy policy that includes domestic oil drilling and refineries, hydropower, clean coal, and nuclear power.

b) We believe markets are better deciders of what products are successful and efficient; therefore we oppose government subsidies for ethanol production and other unproven and inefficient alternative energy sources.

c) Environmental problems can be solved faster and cheaper with innovation and new technology, than with litigation, regulation and mandated use of specific forms of energy based on its environmental impact.

d) We oppose the breaching or removal of any hydroelectric dams on the Snake or Columbia Rivers.